Lower Middle Market Weekly Outlook

Good morning, all. Hope all of our readers in the Northeast will stay warm and safe through the imminent snowpocalypse.

Last week, deal professionals gathered in Davos for the annual World Economic Forum. The event offered a flurry of networking and a chance for dealmakers from around the world to share their perspectives on 2015. Attendees seemed generally optimistic about the coming year, despite a variety of geopolitical risks. Stephen Schwarzman is particularly focused on oil, claiming it is the “biggest investment opportunity in the world.”

On the domestic front, PE professionals can breathe a little easier as an SEC official reported that there will not likely be an immediate crackdown on private equity.

One last note: today is Middle Market Monday, the inaugural holiday to celebrate middle market businesses and their needs for 2015.

Transactions:

• Kidd & Company recaps Nexcore Technology
• Kinder Morgan to buy Hiland Partners for $3 billion
• Mindtree to acquire Discoverture
• DealerSocket acquires DealerFire
• Incline Equity Partners invests in BCI Burke
• Next Point Capital buys Thomas Kinkade Co.
• BTC Media acquires Bitcoin Magazine
• Victory Park Capital invests $200 million in The Kreditech Group
• Blackstone is said to raise $4.5 billion energy fund
• Nortek acquires Anthro Corporation
• Phoenix Equity Partners to acquire Bridge Leisure
• Amazon to buy Annapurna Labs
• Stonebridge Partners refinances Swiff-Train
• Ipreo acquires ClearMomentum
• Escalate Capital closes on $235 million fund
• Monogram Capital Partners forms to invest in lower middle market
• Roper Industries acquires Strata Decision Technology
• Revelstoke Capital invests in Encore Rehab
• Expedia acquires Travelocity in $280 million deal

Events:

• Monday: ACG Northeast Dealmaking Conference
• Tuesday: AM&AA Winter Conference

Opinions:

• Lots of love for giants and cool kids, but mid-market firms go begging
• Why the Staples-Office Depot merger could get the blessing of regulators
• Calpers is not in danger of breaking up with PE
• What could sink PE fundraising in 2015?
• Most middle market businesses need a succession plan
• Airline merger mania over? Not so, says industry veteran
• Venture capital outpaces buyouts in investment returns
• KKR refunds some fees to investors
• Investing in PE: What financial advisors need to know
• How the Petrobras scandal impacts private equity
• Northrop CEO sees no shift in US stance against big defense M&A
• EBay’s breakup plans may open door for e-commerce M&A
• Private equity offers important lessons on capital needs in Africa
• Illinois mid-market firms ready to spend money and hire
• M&A in payments sector booms in 2014
• US investment banks take business from European rivals
• Reverse merger market shrank in fourth quarter

This week in history… Cadbury Schweppes P.L.C. buys Dr. Pepper/Seven-Up Company